K2K: NSW Government and local MP’s must back Randwick Council’s draft planning strategy against 25 storey high rise threats in Kensington and Kingsford. – 2nd May 2017

Randwick Greens Councillor Murray Matson set up the K2K urban design competition to block developers from forcing through 25 storey towers along Anzac Parade from Kensington to Kingsford.

Randwick Council is fighting to hold off open slather spot rezonings by restricting high rize development to just three clusters around each of the three new CSELR light rail stops in Kensington and Kingsford.

Such changes to an area’s height and density controls are known as “spot rezonings” because they are usually made to suit just one developer on one site thus undermining wider planning objectives held by a local Council.

K2K feed into Randwick Council’s draft Kensington and Kingsford Planning Strategy that is intended to control and restrict development in the two town centres. It was to be the Council’s main blocking mechanism. But the Planning Minister hasn’t yet given the Council permission for the draft to be exhibited.

Councillor Matson says that this tardiness suggests that the state government is not serious about protecting Kensington and Kingsford from spot rezoning. He says that the Minister should have given “gateway” approval for exhibition back in February:

“If the NSW Planning Minister won’t exhibit our draft area-wide planning strategy then we have to ask if the door is being kept open for 25 storey towers on single sites from Kingsford to Kensington.”

The Kingsford and Kensington town centres will be connected along Anzac Parade by the completed CBD to South East Light Rail line.

Councillor Matson says that the issue is about area wide strategic planning by Randwick Council verse an uncoordinated “site grab” by developers:

“Such uncontrolled development devoid of area wide shading, air flow, parking, transport, public infrastructure and open space considerations will be an appalling urban planning outcome. A site grab like must surely be the direct opposite of what the Government’s Greater Sydney Commission district plan is supposed to be about.”

Randwick City Council is proposing that increased height and density be restricted to sites to be serviced by new light rail stops.

“If we are allowed to get our planning strategy into place high density development will be locked down to just three clusters of sites for 18 storeys next to light rail stops. But if the Minister doesn’t give us exhibition permission then there is nothing to stop 25 storey sites being allowed all over the Kensington and Kingsford town centres.”

The Green Councillor reiterated his call for the three local MP’s for Maroubra, Heffron and Coogee to publicly oppose spot rezoning:

“Labor’s Michael Daley and Ron Hoenig along with Liberal Bruce Notley-Smith must publicly come out in support of Randwick Council’s draft strategy to make it clear that they oppose random one-site spot rezonings in Kensington and Kingsford.”